Isolation and characterisation of metallothionein from the clam Ruditapes decussatus

Aquatic Toxicology 63 (2003) 307-318

Evaluation of the potential of translocated common cockle for ecological risk assessment studies: bioaccumulation and biomarkers test

Thesis submitted to the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia to obtain the Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, profile in Ecological Engineering

Evaporation from porous building materials and its cooling potential

Evaporative cooling is a traditional strategy to improve summer comfort, which has gained renewed relevance in the context of the transition to a greener economy. Here, the potential for evaporative cooling of two common porous building materials, natural stone and ceramic brick, was evaluated. The work has relevance also to the protection of built heritage becauseevaporation underlies the problems of dampness and salt crystallization, which are so harmful and frequent in this heritage. It was observed that the drying rate of the materials is, in some cases, higher than the evaporation rate of a free water surface. Surface area measurements by a three-dimensional optical technique suggested, as probable cause of this behavior, that surface irregularity gives rise to a large effective surface of evaporation in the material. Surface temperature measurements by infrared were performed afterward during evaporation experiments outside during a hot summer day in Lisbon. Their results indicate that ordinary building materials can be very efficient evaporative media and, thus, may help in achieving higher energy efficiency while maintaining a simultaneous constructive or architectural function.

The influence of menopausal status on bone turnover and disease control in breast cancer patients with metastatic bone disease treated with chemotherapy plus zoledronic acid : an exploratory retrospective cohort study

RESUMO: Introdução: Uma meta-análise recente demonstrou que uso adjuvante de ácido zoledrónico (AZ) em mulheres pós-menopáusicas com cancro da mama precoce (CM) conduz a redução do risco de morte por CM em 17%. Investigámos o efeito do estado hormonal (pré [PrM] vs pós-menopausa tardia [PoM]) na remodelação óssea e controlo de doença em mulheres com CM e metástases ósseas (MO) tratadas com AZ e quimioterapia (QT). Métodos: Neste estudo de coorte retrospetivo, colhemos variáveis clinico-patológicas e quantificámos o telopéptido N-terminal (NTX) urinário e marcadores tumorais (MT) séricos em mulheres com CM e MO tratadas com QT e AZ. As doentes foram divididas em PrM (<45 anos) e PoM (>60 anos). Endpoints do estudo: variação do NTX, CA15.3 e CEA nos meses 3, 6 e 9, tempo até falência de QT de primeira-linha e sobrevivência. Quando apropriado foram usados os testes de Wilcoxon rank-sum, modelo de efeitos lineares mistos, teste log-rank e modelo de Cox. Resultados: Quarenta doentes foram elegíveis para análise (8 PrM e 32 PoM). Depois da introdução de AZ e QT, os níveis de NTX e MT caíram no coorte global. O perfil de resposta não diferiu entre grupos no mês 3 ou em tempos posteriores (valor-p para interação tempo-estado hormonal no mês 3=0.957). Ademais, o perfil de resposta dos MT também não diferiu entre grupos. O tempo mediano até falência de primeira-linha de QT em PrM e PoM foi de 15.2 e 17.4 meses, respetivamente. Não foi identificada diferença significativa entre grupos, quer em análise univariada quer após controlo para envolvimento visceral (p=0.399 e 0.469, respetivamente). Igualmente, não houve diferenças em termos de sobrevivência. Conclusões: Neste coorte, não foram identificadas diferenças no controlo de NTX ou MT em função do estado menopausico. Igualmente, não foi identificada diferença no tempo até falência de primeira-linha de CT ou sobrevivência.----------- ABSTRACT: Background: A recent meta-analysis showed that the adjuvant use of zoledronic acid (ZA) in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer (BC) leads to a reduction in the risk of breast cancer death by 17%. We investigated the effect of the hormonal status (pre [PrM] vs late post menopause [PoM]) on bone turnover and disease control among women with BC and boné metastases (BM) treated with ZA and chemotherapy (CT). Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we collected clinicopathologic variables, urinary Nterminal telopeptide (NTX) and serum tumor marker levels from women with BC and BM treated with CT and ZA. Patients were divided in PrM (<45 years) and PoM (>60 years). Study endpoints were NTX, CA15.3 and CEA variation at 3, 6 and 9 months, and time to first-line CT failure and survival. We performed multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models to assess the variation of repeated measures and cox regression models for time to event outcomes. Results: Forty patients were eligible for analysis (8 PrM and 32 PoM). After introduction of ZA and CT, NTX and tumor markers declined in the overall cohort. Response profile was similar between menopausal groups at month 3 and at later time points (p-value for time-hormonal status interaction at month 3=0.957). Furthermore, tumor markers response profile was also equal between groups. Median time to first-line CT failure in PrM and PoM women was 15.2 and 17.4 months, respectively. No significant difference between groups was found, either using a univariate analysis or after controlling for visceral disease involvement (p=0.399 and 0.469, respectively). Likewise, no differences in survival were found. Conclusions: In this cohort, no differences were found in terms of NTX or tumor markers control according to menopausal status. Similarly, no difference in time to first-line CT failure or survival was found.

Hydric behavior of earth materials and the effects of their stabilization with cement or lime: study on repair mortars for historical rammed earth structures

Earthen building materials bear interesting environmental advantages and are the most appropriate to conserve historical earth constructions. To improve mechanical properties, these materials are often stabilized with cement or lime, but the impact of the stabilizers on the water transport properties, which are also critical, has been very rarely evaluated. We have tested four earth-based repair mortars applied on three distinct and representative rammed earth surfaces. Three mortars are based on earth collected from rammed earth buildings in south of Portugal and the fourth mortar is based on a commercial clayish earth. The main objective of the work was over the commercial earth mortar, applied stabilized and not stabilized on the three rammed earth surfaces to repair, to assess the influence of the stabilizers. The other three earth mortars (not stabilized) were applied on each type of rammed earth, representing the repair only made with local materials. The four unstabilized earth materials depicted nonlinear dependence on t1/2 during capillary suction. This behaviour was probably due to clay swelling. Stabilization with any of the four tested binders enabled the linear dependence of t1/2 expected from Washburn's equation, probably because the swelling did not take place in this case. However, the stabilizers also increased significantly the capillary suction and the capillary porosity of the materials. This means that, in addition to increasing the carbon footprint, stabilizers like cement and lime have functional disadvantages that discourage its use in repair mortars for raw earth construction.